FIFA have announced that Queensland Hyundai A-League referee Chris Beath has been appointed as a video match official for the FIFA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in France this year from June 7 to July 7.

Beath joins fellow Queensland match officials Casey Reibelt and Kate Jacewicz as Australian representatives in the contingent of 90 match officials selected to attend the tournament.

Football Federation Australia (FFA) Head of Leagues Greg O’Rourke congratulated Beath on the appointment.

“On behalf of the Australian football community we would like to officially congratulate Chris on his appointment as a video match official for the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup,” O’Rourke said.

“Australia was one of the first member associations to use the Video Assistant (VAR) protocol and Chris was one of the first match officials in the world to become qualified as a VAR.

“This appointment shows the benefit of being at the forefront of innovation in the game for our match officials.”

Beath said he was honoured to be selected as one of two representatives from the AFC as a video match official.

“I’m very proud and humbled to have been selected as one of the VARs for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in France,” Beath said.

“I’m looking forward to working with some of the best referees in the world, including our own world-class referees Kate and Casey.

“I’m also very thankful to the Hyundai A-League and the FFA Referees Department for making the decision many years ago to be the first domestic competition in the world to implement VAR.

“This has put Australian referees in a great position in the current football environment.”

Image: Hyundai A-League